McDonald's profit meets estimates

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- McDonald's Corp. posted a third-quarter profit Friday that met Wall Street estimates, helped by a sales boost in its overseas markets and new menu items, including breakfast offerings and sandwiches.

McDonald's (Charts, Fortune 500), the world's largest fast-food chain, said third-quarter profit rose to $1.07 billion, or 89 cents a share, from $843.3 million, or 68 cents, a year earlier.

But excluding a gain from the sale of its Boston Market unit, earnings came in at 83 cents, in line with analysts' forecasts. Revenue came in at $5.9 billion, slightly below expectations.

Analysts, on average, had forecast a profit of 83 cents on sales of $6 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

The company said sales at its restaurants open at least a year, also known as same-store sales, jumped 11.4 percent in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa group, the highest quarterly performance in that regional combination in 10 years.

Its global same-store sales rose 6.9 percent in the quarter, marking the fast-food chain's seventh consecutive quarter of same-store sales gains.

McDonald's did not break out its same-store sales in its key U.S. market but said in a statement that its domestic operations "generated strong operating income growth despite industry-wide commodity and labor headwinds."

McDonald's is expected to hold a conference call with analysts Friday to discuss its results.